Joliet's New City Manager Gets $30K More Than Predecessor

JOLIET, IL - Starting November 27, the highest paid city of Joliet official will be new city manager David Hales, whose $215,000 annual salary and three-year employment contract was approved at last week's Joliet City Council meeting by a unanimous vote.For the past nine years, Hales worked about an hour-and-a-half away, as city manager of Bloomington, population 78,000. Hales comes to Joliet, a city of about 149,000, with more than 25 years of experience as a city manager. Besides Illinois, he has worked in a number of states including Utah, Oregon and North Carolina.

Joliet Patch, in fulfilling our role as a public watchdog, obtained a copy of the new employment contract through the city of Joliet. We aim to shed light on Hales' overall compensation package, which is funded, of course, by the taxpaying residents across Joliet. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Compensation:

As mentioned above, Hales will draw a starting salary of $215,000 that's $30,000 higher than the starting compensation that the Joliet City Council gave Jim Hock in October 2013 to lure Hock away from his local government positon at Carpentersville. That translates into a more than 16 percent increase in starting pay for Hales. Hock was also given a three-year employment with Joliet, and he stayed the duration, announcing his retirement in April.

Job Reviews To Be Secret:

The previous employment contract of Hock included no mention or mechanism concerning job performance goals or annual performance evaluations. In contrast, performance goals and objectives are mentioned at length in Hales' new contract. However, the contract the Joliet City Council ratified appears to keep city residents in the dark regarding Hales' future annual performance reviews. "Unless Mr. Hales expressly requests otherwise in writing, the evaluation of Mr. Hales shall at all times be conducted in executive session and shall be considered confidential to the extent permitted by law," his contract states. "Nothing herein shall prohibit the City of Joliet or Mr. Hales from sharing the content of Mr. Hales' evaluation with their respective legal counsel."

Fuel Perks:

On top of his $215,000 salary, Hales gets an extra $3,000 per year that constitutes a vehicle allowance. In essence, an extra $250 will go into his monthly paychecks. Hales' contract also specifies that "In addition to the monetary stipend, Vehicle Allowance shall include the provision at no charge of motor fuel from City-operated pumping stations for Mr. Hales' personal vehicle that he regularly uses in the discharge of his official duties ..."

Relocation allowance

Under the terms of the new contract, Joliet will reimburse Hales up to $12,500. The reimbursements will cover his expenses associated with "packing, moving and unpacking of household goods, based on the lowest of three bids obtained by Mr. Hales from qualified moving companies located in the City of Joliet" and the rent and utility costs for Hales to reside in a city of Joliet apartment "for some or all of the period of time between the effective date of this agreement and April 1, 2018."

Business expenses

His contract included a stipulation that Joliet will reimburse Hales for "said general expenses" that are job-related in nature. "Such expenses may include meals where City of Joliet business is being discussed or conducted and participation in social events of various organizations when representing the City of Joliet. Such expenditures are subject to annual budget constraints as well as state and City of Joliet ethics and purchasing policies ..."

Six-Figure Severance

If Joliet's politicians decides to fire Hales for any reason, the taxpayers of Joliet are on the hook for a lump-sum payment of six months salary, which currently translates to at least $107,500. "The City shall not be required to pay Severance in the case of voluntary resignation or job abandonment," the contract notes.

Fringe benefits

Hales can participate in Joliet's deferred compensation Section 457 qualified plan and the city's pension program for Group 1 Exempt Employees. In addition, Hales also receives holiday leave benefits as well as a credit of three weeks (120 hours) of vacation leave when he starts work in late November. He is being credited with eighteen days (144 hours of sick leave) when he starts. "Mr. Hales shall not be entitled to compensation for accrued but unused Sick Leave at the time of his separation from service with the City," his contract stipulated.

Image of David Hales via City of Bloomington, IL